Improved machine for washing minerals



UNITED STATns PERRY G. GARDINER,

.ATnNT FTICE.

or NEW YORK, N. Y.

Spccilication forming part of LettersPatcnt No. 44,526, dated October 4,1864.

'separated bear to each other, and to the quartz or other earths inwhich they are contained,

compared with water; and my machinery is adaptedA .tothe separatingv the'metals after the ores which contain them have been red uced to finepowder by previous processes; and the invention and novelty consists inthe construction and arrangement of a series of two or more cylindersplaced at .successively lower levels in reference to each other,connected by pipes, and through which cylinders and their connectionsare conducted and carried the pulverized ores or earths to be operatedupon, in connection with a current of water 'owin g rapidly through theseries, and which stream of water, together `with the pulverized earthsor ores, are accelerated, as well as kept in a state of agitation, so

that the particles being separated,the rel atively-lighter parts of thepulverized matter are carried oi' from cylinder to cylinder, leaving theheavier and metallic parts in the cylinders, so that the separation isaccomplished in the cylindersfin the order of the specific gravities ofthe metals iespectively. Thus in ores containing avariety of metals-suchas gold,silver, copper, or iron, (asis the case with the Colo'- lradoores)the separation would be,'rst, of

the gold as the heaviest, next the silver, nextv the copper, and thenthe iron; but where the ores are more simple, and only one metal existsor greatlypredominates, the process for separat-ing is more simple andrequiresa ser1esof only two cylinders, while in the other case a seriesof a greater number of cylinders would be required.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurelrepresents a vert-ical longitudinalsection throughl the center of two cylinders (of a series) and of theirconnections, one of thecylinders, theupper one, being represented withthe head in position, and showing also the supportingstandard of theaxis of the shafts within the cylinder upon which the axis rotates. Theother (lower) cylinder of the vseries is in section, and the standard orsupport of the shaftv or axis, is shown only in part. The frame or bedon which the cylinders and their connections rest is not in section, butis shown in side elevation. Fig. II is an end elevation of the frame orbed ofthe machinery; Fig. III .is avertical crosssecton through thecenter of one of the cylinders and its axis or shaft, and of the partssupporting it, showing also the drums or` pulleys attached to the shaft.Fig. IV is a side View or elevation of two ofthe arms revolving intheeylinders. Figdiis 'a vertical crosssection of a funnel and pipe bywhich the water and pulverized ore are introduced into the firstcylinder ofthe series.

bers represent the same parts.

f have a declivity or incline of about twenty-five degrees. Upon thisinclined frame, which is narrow and oblong, I arrange the cylinders B il B. These cylinders are hollow, and of narrow I Width in'proportion totheir diameters, as shown in the two Figs. I and III in longitudinal andtransverse section. These cylinders are cast with iianges b, by whichthey are firmly secured to the bed-frame with bolts. One

head of the cylinders should be made removable by being east separatefrom the body ofthe cylinder, and provided with flanges through whichpass bolts b', by which it is tightly held to the cylinder, so as toform a water-tight joint. The cylinders have openings into them and outof them in their perpheries, as herein next described, theseopeningscorresponding to each other in all the series. There are two openings atthe bottom or under side, as seen at l 2. The opening 1 at the bottom ofthe cylinder is for admitting the water,'.and in the first or highestcylinder on the frame is connected with the pipeCan'd funnel C. j v

2 is anopening in the lbottom of the "cylinder, and is provided with anozzle or flange, b,

and which is stopped or. unstopped bywthe,

stopper b fitted toit, andscrewing intoit by a male and femalescrew-thread In all the iigures the same letters and num- In the upperpart of the cylinders are two l Although but two of the series ofcylinders other openings, 3 4, 3 being directly on the top and 4 being alittle lower on the sidc. 3 is provided with a stopper, b, tted into theneck of the opening, as in 2. The object of this opening is for cleaningand washing out the cylinders.

Opening 4 is connected with ,a hollow pipe, D, which first rises abovethe level of the top of the irst cylinder, and then turns and descendsinto the lower part of the next cylinder in the series, thus connectingtheinterior of the two cylinders together by a communication of a tubewhose joints should be watertight. The cylinders are so arrangedV uponthe frame or bed that the center of each cylinder will be on a levelwith the lowest part of the periphery of the cylinder immediatelyfpreceding and above it-in other words, a horizontal line `drawn throughthe center of the cylinder-of the series in the direction of theirlineof position will always touch the lowest portion of the cylindernextabove it.

It should be observed that the line of discharge from the lowest or lastcylinder of the s ries must'always be higher than the top of the lastcylinder, as shown Aat D', Fig. I, in order that only the lighter partsofthe material operated upon may pass ott' out of the last cylinder.

Within each cylinder are four arms, E, at

right angles to each other, fast to -the axis oi1` shaft G, supported onthe standards or upright brackets g, fast to the bed or frame A.

The arms are driven by a belt from a .prime mover connected. with thepulleys or 'drums H at one end of the axle or shaft of the firstcylinder of the series, the other end of the` axle orshaft havinga drum,I, or pulley by which it is -connected with and gives motion to a drumupon the shaft of the arms of the next cylinder in the series, and so onin succession,

'the speed of each successive shaft being .reduced one-half from that ofthe preceding,

the last moving slowly, all the shafts and arms rotating in the samedirection, except `that 1 when there are more than two cylinders in they series Il give in such case to the shaft andarms of the last or lowestcylinder a rotation opposite to that of thc others, in order to preventa too rapid flow and forcing of the water and other materials from thecylinder, and at the same time to give as much agitation as possi.- bleto the contents of the lowest cylinder. The arms E are not solid, butare made open, each arm in five parts, two on eachside and one at theend, as shown in Fig. IV. Around the arms for aboutthree-quarters theirlength, beginning from the extremity of the arms, I stretch thewire-cloth e, the object of which is to assist in disturbing andagitating the .matter within the cylinders, andto cause a more perfectseparation of the metallic and other particles, but not so as toentirely stop the flow of water through the arms and of the materialwhich it. carries withv it into and out' of the cylinders through theseries.

are shown in the drawings, this represents the construction andoperation of a series of any greater number of cylinders that may be re`quired, all of them being constructed as here represented. y A

Having thus described the construction of disturbed and agitatedin thefirst cylinder by the rotation of the arms, so that all the materials inthe iirst cylinder tend to take a positionaccording to their relativespecific gravity. The gold, being heaviest, is separated by fallingtothe bottom of the cylinder, where it are carried by the operation of therevolving arms and the current of water over through the pipe D into thenext cylinder, where-.a similar process and result are produced with thecontents so carried into it from the first cylinderand this is repeatedthrough th'ejsef of water will .by the operationbe carried through thecylinders. and pipes,l and iinally discharged at the discharge-pipe D ofthe last cylinder, leaving behind in the cylinders-all be gold, silver,copper, iron, or other metal, thus performing the operation of acomplete separator and throwing off the earthy matters and parts of theores.

character of the orespulverized.

This machinery may be used with or without mercury asan amalgam; butwhen mercury is used, and there are more than two cylinders in theseries, it should be placed in the two llast/or lower series only.Inasmuch as the other higher cylinders of the series will retain onlythe heavier particles of the metals, they will produce a sufficientseparation without the need of mercury. When the operation' is`performed-so that all the earthy matters are .carried off through thedischarge-pipe of the lower cylinder, the apertures 2 in the bottom ofthe lcylinders are opened and the contents of each cylinder aredischarged into thel trough underneath successively, one after another,beginning at the lowest, by means of a current of water and by turningthe arms.

All parts of the machinery are of iron, cepting the brasses in thewater-tight j ournai" l boxes of the shafts ofthe arms in the cylinders.

my machinery, I now proceed to describe the pulleys and belts. The .dustand water become remains, while the other parts, notso heavy,

ries of cylinders until th'e whole ofthe metallic. portions of dust areretained and separatdsin" the cylinders. Everything in the dust notvspecifically heavier than fourteen times that the metallic portions ofth'e d ust, whether it The speed to be given. to the rotating arms mustbe varied somewhat according to the Having thus described my inventionand machinery and the operation thereof, what I claim therein as myinvention, and for which desire Letters Patent, is- Y The washing andseparating the metallic parts of the pnlverized dust of ores from eachother and from the earthy matters bypassing the dust through a series oftwo or more cylinders arranged upon descending levels con-n nected bypipes, in connection with a stream of Water passing through the Wholeseries from a head or funnel above the level of the highest cylinder,the action of the water and the Washing and separating being acceleratedand assisted by the revolving arms Within the cylinders,substantially/as described, thereby sepa' rating the metallic parts ofythe dust in the cylinders successively from cylinder to cylin der,beginning with the highest, according to the specic gravity ofthe metal,the heaviest being rst separated and" deposited, and so on through theseries. Y

. P. G. GARDINER. Witnesses:

T. B STAPLES, G. W. FOX.

